The supreme court is considering whether it should rule on the spiritual status of a Sikh leader and examine his claim to be a "holy saint".

The highly unusual application made by Sant Baba Jeet Singh Ji Maharaj and his followers would force the courts to intervene in an international religious dispute over the ownership of three gurdwaras, or temples, in Bradford, Birmingham and High Wycombe.

Jeet Singh was installed as the "Third Holy Saint" and head of the Nirmal Kutia Johal branch of the Sikh religion in Punjab in 2002 but his legitimacy has been challenged. Former members of the temples' management committees now control some of the gurdwaras.

In May the court of appeal declined to become entangled in the row, warning that judges should not adjudicate on the type of doctrinal matters that preoccupied 19th-century courts.